Like a Drug
by Kadence01
Summary: Started out based in the world of General Hospital but has moved in to AU. Takes place when Maxie confronts Johnny about sleeping with Olivia. It's not a love story. It's a story about the fight between the desire to be a better person and the desire to feel alive.
1. Like a Drug 1

___A/U - Takes place after 5/22 scene where Maxie confronts Johnny about sleeping with Olivia. The first chunk is taken from the episode to catch you up to the scene. I own no rights to anything. _

Maxie walked from her car toward the garage. She wasn't sure why she was even there but ever since she heard about Olivia and Johnny she knew she had to see him. As she walked up to the door she could hear Johnny's voice. He was yelling at someone. She probably should have turned and left but instead she kept walking.

"Oh, my God -- do you hear yourself, Claudia? You are my sister, for God's sakes. You know, I went out to a bar. I got trashed. Met a woman that I liked, slept with her, and liked it. So what?" Johnny had his back to the door while he yelled at his sister.

Claudia didn't notice Maxie either as she argued back "So, Olivia Falconeri is my enemy, John. You're my brother. And I expect some loyalty from you after everything I've done for you"

"Everything you've done for me ? What? Getting me –" Johnny turned to notice Maxie in the door. "Maxie"

"Much better. At least this one's age-appropriate. Have at her, John. Bang her brains out. Stay away from Olivia Falconeri." With that Claudia left the garage.

Johnny hadn't wanted Maxie to hear that "What I just said to her –"

Before he could even finish the though she said the one thing she had been asking herself all day. "Johnny, why did you sleep with Olivia Falconeri?"

He didn't say anything and just looked surprised she had even said it and so was she but it was too late to go back now. "I'm just confused why you slept with Olivia. Maybe you have some untapped mommy issues?" Maxie realized the moment she let those words leave her mouth that she had probably crossed the line.

"Okay, you're way out of line, Maxie. First off, because Olivia's smart and beautiful, and I really like her. Second –"

"No, you cannot possibly like Kate Howard's cousin." She interrupted. "I thought you were just going to say this was a drunken mistake, and you would put it all behind you."

"Maxie, why do you care so much about who I sleep with?" He asked, wondering why she was really there.

"I don't know. I -- I thought you liked me." She said it, it was out there and then she waited.

"What's the deal with you, Maxie? Is it an attention thing? You're not happy unless every guy you meet wants to hook up with you?" He was baiting her.

"You're not every guy. And you do want me. You're attracted to me. You can't deny that."

"I'm not denying anything. But you were the one who made it clear the feeling wasn't mutual."

"I never said that." She wondered how he could even think that.

"Okay, fine, you want to get technical? You want me, but you want Spinelli more."

"I need Spinelli." Why couldn't he see that, understand how important Spinelli was to her.

"Word game." He turned his back on her walking to his desk.

"It's so different. Spinelli is good for me. He believes in me. I couldn't imagine my life without him. And I've tried to turn my back on the fact that I'm attracted to you for Spinelli's sake, but I'm not sure I can do that." She was frustrated, frustrated that she had felt such a strong urge to come here, frustrated that Johnny couldn't understand, frustrated that she was so completely torn by what she felt and what she knew in her heart.

He turned back towards her. "Okay, well, then you got to get yourself straight, Maxie. Decide what you can and can't handle. You want to jump into bed with me? I'm not going to kick you out. But I have one noble act in me. Beyond that, I'm over this whole self-denial thing. So if you want to do this, let's go."

Maxie didn't know what to say. Sure she knew she should just turn and walk out of that garage but there was a connection, something so strong and electrifying. Spinelli may have made her feel like a better person but Johnny was like a drug to her. Once she got around him she just wanted to stay longer, push farther, see how close she could get to that line.

"So?" Johnny asked he had moved close to her during his rant and he was so close she could have easily have just dove in and had the moment. But instead she started to think.

"It's just I worked so hard to get Spinelli back and-" Maxie tried to explain.

"Maxie, I don't want to hear it" Johnny turned and started to walk away "I told you I'm not going to play this game. If you want to go then –"

She caught his wrist and stopped him from walking. He turned back towards her.

"Just shut up" The next moment Maxie's lips met his. She kissed him deeper and harder than she thought she could have. She thought for a second about Spinelli's face but when Johnny raised his hand to her face, ran his fingers through her hair; she quickly pushed his image away. This is what she had wanted, the reason she had wanted to come see him so strongly.

Johnny's mouth moved away from hers and down to her neck. His mouth and warm breath were driving her crazy. It was a feeling that had been building for a long time. She had her hands under his shirt, feeling his warm skin. Everything seemed so warm. He slid the straps of her dress off her shoulders, nibbling her skin. She let out a soft moan. He was no amateur. Soon his mouth was back on hers. Without breaking the kiss he grabbed her waist in his hands and lifted her off the ground. He carried her over toward the desk and sat her on the corner while he pulled off his shirt.

Maxie looked at him, taking him in, she smiled

"What?" Johnny laughed as her mouth broke into a larger smile. "Something amusing?"

"Not at all. I was just thinking how lucky Olivia really had it. I bet she hasn't been with someone as hot as you in a long time."

"Well she's an attractive women but she's got nothing on you." He said placing his hands on her thighs and slowly sliding her dress up.

"Oh really?" Maxie said placing her hands on his shoulders and pulling him closer to her.

"Yes, really." He said and kissed her again. This time slower, gentler and somehow more intense. She couldn't believe how great he kissed and tasted and felt. She was completely wrapped up in the moment until she heard someone clear their throat in the room.

___A/U - So what do you think, this is my first attempt at writing fan fiction and I realize more than half is from the show but I love to read it and figured I would give it a go. So thoughts? comments? _


	2. Like a Drug 2

_A/U - Again I wrote it but own no rights to the characters._

Maxie and Johnny were in one of the deepest kisses Maxie had ever felt. She could feel it in her toes. She was completely wrapped up in the moment until she heard someone clear their throat in the room.

Johnny stopped kissing her and smoothed her dress back down her thighs as he turned toward the door.

Maxie pulled her dress straps back in place and leaned slightly to see who had walked in.

"Jason. Can I do something for you?" Johnny's voice was cold and he picked up his shirt from the floor.

"Sorry. The door was open." He looked at Maxie . Jason never showed much expression in his face but when her eyes met his her stomach dropped. He looked back at Johnny. "Sonny asked me to drop off these papers about the shipment tomorrow."

"I see. Probably could have sent over a messenger for this." Johnny took the papers from Jason and dropped them on the table by the door.

"Yah well I wanted to swing by. I need to talk with you." Jason looked toward Maxie. "I think it would be best if you leave now."

"Maxie is my guest." Johnny responded, he didn't like Jason coming into his business and telling people what to do.

"No it's fine. I should go back to work anyway." Maxie got off the desk. "We have a big photo spread in the works, depression chic, it's a huge new trend, everyone is doing it now." She rambled as she collected her purse and made her way toward the door. "I'm sure Kate is wondering where I am. So we'll talk later." She said to Johnny and quickly walked out of the garage.

Maxie made her way quickly to her car and started it. The guilt she felt was massive. She began to panic. Would Jason say anything to Spinelli? How could she explain? It had been horrible when Spinelli was being so cold to her and it was just starting to get back to normal. What had she done? She put the car in drive and pulled away from the garage.

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It had been close to a week since she had seen Johnny in the garage. She had spent time with Spinelli a few times since then and it seemed like Jason hadn't said anything. Part of her was relieved and another part of her was sure that any moment Spinelli would confront her and tell her that he never wanted to speak with her again. She had avoided Jason's apartment up until now but today she was stuck. She had told Spinelli she would come over. All week she had come up with reasons not to go the apartment but he was beginning to suspect something was up so she had to just hope that Jason wouldn't say anything or better yet wouldn't even be there.

Maxie walked out of the elevator to find Jason closing the apartment door. "Oh, hi." She was caught off guard seeing him this quickly.

"Hi." He said and walked toward the elevator.

That's all he said and it relaxed Maxie for a moment. Maybe he wouldn't say anything after all. Maybe she had nothing to worry about.

"Thanks." The word crossed her lips as they passed in the hallway and instantly she wished she hadn't said it.

"For what?"

"For. . you know. . not saying anything to Spinelli. It was just this mistake. . that shouldn't have happened and which I feel horrible for and I would never want to hurt him. You know that right? I mean, I really care about him and no matter how attracted I am to Johnny I can't lose Spinelli again" She was rambling again.

"Look I didn't tell Spinelli because it's not my business to tell him. You should tell him."

"Oh" She didn't know what to say to that. But just then the elevator opened so she was saved for the moment.

She turned back toward the apartment door took a deep breath and then walked in. Spinelli was sitting on the couch on his computer.

"Fair Maximista" He looked up from his work and closed his computer. "I'm happy you are here. The Jackal has been working interminably on this latest case and I fear has forgotten our intended plans for the evening."

"It's fine. We can just hang out. You don't need to entertain me. You know that." Maxie dropped down next to Spinelli on the couch. "So what's the big case about?"

"The Jackal is on a mission of dire importance for Stone Cold but beyond that I can not say."

"Well sounds like you've been working hard all day and you need a break. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"That sounds superlative. You select something and the Jackal will procure some provisions." Spinelli headed for the kitchen.

"Hey Spinelli, I'm going to check my email. Ok?" Maxie called toward the kitchen and slid over to Spinelli's computer and opened it. She stopped cold when what she found in front of her was a document with the whereabouts of numerous members of the Zacchara organization including Johnny and his sister. She quickly found Johnny's name and found a list of dates and locations. She froze for a moment when she saw her own name next the day she had been at the garage. It said nothing but her name and an amount of time she had been there but her heart began to pound. What did Spinelli know and why exactly was he keeping tabs on everything Johnny was doing? She quickly closed the computer only moments before Spinelli came back to the room.

"So what did Maximista chose?"

"What?" Maxie's mind was racing.

"The film you opted for tonight's viewing?"

"Oh right. Actually I got a call from Kate and I'm really sorry about this but I have to go." Maxie grabbed her bag and headed toward the door. "Fashion emergencies, what can you do?"

"The Jackal is saddened that the fair Maximista must go but he fully understands and admires her dedication to the occupational demands that the Glacial One requires."

"Thanks for being so understanding." Maxie kissed him quickly on the cheek and left the apartment.

As she took the elevator down she was torn. She didn't really even know what the information she had found meant. She knew that it was probably a big deal to Spinelli to be working on the case but she couldn't help but be afraid of what it meant for Johnny. She knew she had to warn him. Just then her phone rang. It was Johnny, like he was reading her mind.

"Hello? Johnny?" Maxie answered.

"Maxie. . . . hoping you'd answer. . .need you. . . meet?" He was breaking up really bad but she heard that he needed her and at that moment it was all she needed to hear.

"Yes. I can meet you. Where?"

". . . Jake's. . ."

"I'm on my way." Maxie hung up the phone and rushed out of the building.

_A/U - Please let me know what you thought. _


	3. Like a Drug 3

Maxie had never driven so fast. She got to Jake's in no time and quickly entered the bar and the first thing she found was a very drunken Lulu at the bar. She was doing a shot with a group of equally as drunk guys and she was clearly the life of the party.

"Maxie" she called out and almost fell trying to slide off the bar stool. "I'm so happy you're here"

"Hi Lulu. Looks like someone is having a party. What's the occasion?"

"Why does there have to be an occasion?" Lulu slurred. "Maybe I'm just having some drinks with my new friends over there." She gestured to the group of guys at the bar who were clearly out of control themselves. "Besides I've had a hell of week. Found out I had another brother, then I didn't, now I do again. . I think. . .my real brother can barely stand to be around our father but that doesn't much matter since our father is probably going disappear with Holly Sutton any day now. . . Did I mention I kissed my possibly new brother . . before I knew of course."

"Lulu, sounds to me like you could have used a drink. But now I'm thinking you should probably call it a night." Maxie said. She saw in the corner of her eye Johnny standing by Coleman.

"You sound just like Johnny. You two need to just back off and let me live my life." Lulu turned to walk back towards the bar.

Maxie walked up to Johnny. "Man, she is in rough shape tonight."

"Yah, that's why I called, she wouldn't listen to me. Can't really blame her. I hoped you could do a better job." He was standing there with his arms crossed. He genuinely looked worried at Lulu's situation.

"That's why you called? For Lulu?" She sounded a bit disappointed.

"Yah. Couldn't you hear me?" He looked at her confused.

"Well not really. I mean I heard that you needed me but not why exactly. I just thought . . ." she trailed off for a moment before regrouping. "But your right, Lulu does need some help getting home and I doubt we can trust any of those guys to see her there."

"No definitely not." They watched as Lulu took another shot. She was beginning to look like the alcohol had completely taken over. The guy next to her licked the back of her hand and sprinkled salt on it. He was taking a shot of tequila and Lulu had just placed a chunk of lime in her mouth when Maxie walked over and took charge.

"Lulu we have to go. Sorry guys, we have to be at work early tomorrow and Lulu here will be hurting in the morning as it is." Maxie pulled her off the stool and grabbed her purse. Lulu spit out the lime wedge but was being dragged out the door before she could say much more.

"What the hell" one of the guys said and got up from the seat.

"I recommend you let that one go." Johnny said in a cold voice and the guy sat back down at the bar.

Outside the bar the cold air hit Lulu like a ton of rocks and she slumped into the front seat of Maxie's car.

"If you are going to be sick. Let me know and I'll pull over" Maxie said getting into the drivers seat.

The drive back was a quick one thankfully and Lulu had seemed to be doing ok. It was a rougher story getting Lulu up to the apartment. Maxie was basically carrying dead weight. Dead weight which occasionally hiccupped and moaned her apologizes.

"Maxie, I'm sorry. I know I'm a mess. You are a really good friend. I was really wrong when I said all those horrible things about you." Lulu slurred as Maxie got her into the apartment. She brought Lulu to her room and helped her take off her shoes.

"I'm going to put your garbage can by the bed and I will be right next door if you need me. I'll get you some water and then you can get some sleep." Maxie got a glass of water from the fridge and had Lulu drink it. Then Maxie left her to sleep.

As Maxie sat at the edge of her bed she replayed Johnny's phone call in her head. All the pieces fit, he had called her to help him with Lulu. That's all that it was and she was just quick to assume otherwise.

She sat there for a bit thinking until it hit her how tired she was and she started to get ready for bed herself. She stripped off her clothes and was about to put on pajamas when she heard a soft knock on her door. Lulu must be up again. She quickly grabbed her robe and opened her door.

"Hey, I knocked but I didn't want to wake up Lulu and your door was unlocked." Johnny stood before Maxie.

"I guess I forgot since I was dragging a practically unconscious Lulu to her room." Maxie kidded.

"Is she going to be ok?"

"Yah, I think she'll be fine. She wasn't really that bad. I gave her some water and put her to bed." Maxie realized all she was wearing was her robe and she felt a chill run through her.

Johnny seemed to notice her discomfort. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come I just - "

"You wanted to check on Lulu." Maxie interrupted him. She turned and walked toward her desk. "It's ok. I get it."

"No. I wanted to see you." Johnny stepped into her room and shut the door behind him. "You seemed confused at Jake's."

"I just didn't hear you over the phone well. It's fine. I came and Lulu's home now. Problem solved." She still had her back to him as she cursed herself for not having more on. She was really starting to get cold.

Johnny walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Your shivering."

"Yah well I didn't expect company so I'm hardly dressed for it." She tried to play it off but his hands on her were giving her chills of a different kind.

"Are you kidding?" He turned her around. "You look beautiful."

He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and his hand lingered for a second on her cheek.

"Johnny, what are you doing here?" Maxie's voice was a bit shaky.

"I don't know Maxie and to be honest I'm sick of over thinking things." Johnny leaned over and kissed her. It was a soft kiss again. Like the last time they had kissed. Maxie let out a soft moan into his mouth as she felt his tongue slip between her lips. She felt heat run through her. Maxie was always attracted to Johnny, the adrenaline and passion but it was the moments like this when he was softer, gentler that caught her off guard.

As Maxie pulled back she heard movement in the living room. "Lulu's up. I should probably check on her."

"Probably." He was still pressed up against her and it took every strength she had to pull away from him and walk towards the door.

"I'm going to get her back in bed. I'll try and be quick." Maxie said quietly before opening her door and closing it behind her.


	4. Like a Drug 4

CHAPTER 4

Maxie walked out of the bedroom and found Lulu in the kitchen.

"Sorry did I wake you?" Lulu asked. She was pulling a box of crackers out of the cabinet.

"No. I was still up. How are you feeling?"

"Better I guess. I'm still a little nausea and although it's all a little bit fuzzy I'm pretty embarrassed. Thankfully you and Johnny were around." Lulu walked over and sat at the table. "I think I really blew it with him tonight."

"Johnny? What do you mean?" Maxie sat across from her.

"Well awhile before you showed up Johnny tried to talk me into leaving. I guess I was still in the angry part of the night because I said some pretty horrible things to him. God, he probably hates me right about now." Lulu was breaking the crackers into small bites.

"Really Lulu, I'm sure he knows you didn't mean whatever you said, you were really plastered. And I'm sure he doesn't hate you, I mean, he obviously cares enough to call me to come help."

"Yah I guess. I don't even know why I care so much. I mean, with what happened between us, I shouldn't worry so much about it but I guess in some ways I still love him, you know?"

Maxie's stomach dropped. She always knew that it would take more than a few months for Lulu to get over Johnny but after hearing Lulu say those words she felt extremely guilty.

"I'm sure that Johnny still cares about you too. It's only been a few months since you guys broke up and these things take time."

"I'm sure you're right. Well I think I should get back to sleep. Otherwise Kate won't appreciate me sleeping at my desk tomorrow." Lulu got up and put the box of crackers away. "Thanks Maxie. I feel a lot better. Night."

"Night." Maxie sat at the table for a few moments after Lulu had gone back to her room. She questioned what she was doing, to Spinelli, to Lulu. Finally she got up and went back to her room.

"Everything ok?" Johnny asked stretched out on her bed.

"Yah she's fine." Maxie said standing at the end of the bed.

"So where were we?" Johnny asked raising his eyebrow and giving Maxie a sly smile.

"You were just about to leave"

"What?" Johnny sat up "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"It may not be what I want but it's what's going to happen." Maxie stood with her arms crossed. "It's been a long day and I think you should leave."

"Ok. If that's how you want it." Johnny got up and walked up to her. He slid his hands down her arms and leaned in to whisper. "I don't know what's going on with you but one of these days your going to turn around and I won't be there for you to play with anymore." He then he kissed her neck one last time before leaving the room.

She was stuck in that spot not sure if she had done the right thing when she heard the front door close. She ran out of her room and to the front door but stopped before opening it instead she turned the lock and leaned against the door.

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Maxie moved in her bed restlessly. She looked at the clock and found it was 3am. All she could do was thinking about was having Johnny in her room. His mouth on her mouth, his hands on her body. It was driving her mad and she was only getting more restless. She regretted sending him away although she knew that if anything more happened between them and Lulu found out she would be crushed.

"What the hell Johnny" she said in frustration throwing her sheets off her and jumping out of bed. She had to get out of that room. When she opened the door she was surprised to find Johnny standing there. "Johnny, you're back."

"Yah, I couldn't sleep and I wanted to come talk to you. I overheard what Lulu told you before and I know that's why you told me to go. But I wanted you to know, it's completely over with us and whether we can stay friends or not doesn't change how I feel about you."

"And how is that?"

"Maxie I think about you all the time. When I'm not around you I want to be and when I am around you I just want to kiss you." He confessed looking deep into her eyes.

"Really?" she said quietly, afraid in that moment he would take it all back.

"Really. Maxie, I think I'm falling in love with you." Johnny then leaned in and kissed her. She couldn't believe what was happening but she didn't want to fight it anymore. She threw her arms around him and kissed him intensely. He pulled away from her and pulled his shirt over his head. Then he grabbed the bottom of her tank top and did the same. He took her in his arms and pulled her body against his. He kissed down her neck and she melt into him.

They moved to the bed and she sank into comforter as he undid the buttons to his pants. Maxie was hardly virginal but for a second she felt that nervousness of her first time. The moment she looked up and they met eyes again that moment passed and she grabbed his neck and pulled him back unto her. He buried his face into neck and started kissing her. He made his way down her chest, kissing and nibbling. She moaned and ran her hands through his hair. He moved lower and slid his hands down to her shorts and slid them down and away from her body. As he moved back up her body he held himself above her for a moment.

"Your sure this is what you want?" Johnny asked above her.

"More than anything." Maxie said reaching up toward him when –

"Maxie? Are you ok?" Lulu was at the door.

Maxie sat up quickly. "Lulu?" She looked around the room and realized it was morning and it was all a dream.


	5. Like a Drug 5

Maxie walked up to the counter at Kelly's. "Hey Mike, Can I get a coffee?"

"Sure thing." Mike grabbed a cup and filled it up.

Maxie had sneaked out of the apartment while Lulu was in the shower. Lulu had woken her up this morning after hearing her talking in her sleep. At first Maxie was nervous she had said something incriminating but it didn't seem like Lulu realized what she was dreaming about. Just to be careful she had avoided Lulu for the rest of the morning.

After paying for her coffee Maxie decided to head over to Spinelli & Sam's office to see how he was doing. She was really feeling guilty about the other night and wanted to check in with him.

"Hey" She found Spinelli seating at his computer in the office. He seemed to be deep in his work but as soon as she came in he closed his computer.

"Fair Maximista. You left in such haste yesterday and I never heard from you again. Everything alright?" Spinelli looked tired like he had been working all night.

"Oh, right. Everything's fine. Just work stuff." Maxie didn't know what else to say. "So what are you working on?"

"Just a project for Stone Cold." Spinelli was sorting through papers on his desk.

Maxie began to feel like there was more going on with Spinelli. She panicked. Had Jason told him about her and Johnny? She couldn't lose him. Instead she went with the move that always seemed to reel guys back in.

"You know Spinelli, I've been thinking. We never seem to get enough alone time." She walked over to his chair and sat in his lap.

"Alone time?" Spinelli was clearly uncomfortable. "Well I've just been really busy on PI stuff." He got up almost dropping her to the floor. Maxie grabbed the corner of the desk to get her balance but instead knocked over a bunch of papers.

"Sorry about that." She apologized collecting the papers.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get them" Spinelli quickly grabbed the papers from her hands but not before seeing Johnny's name on a report. He hastily stuffed the papers in the top draw and faced Maxie again. "I should probably get back to work. You must have to head over to Crimson as well."

"Yah, your right. I should go. Later Spinelli." Maxie left the office.

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Instead of going to the office Maxie headed over to Johnny's garage. She couldn't believe she forgot to warn him about what she had seen on Spinelli's computer the day before and now the papers on Spinelli's desk only proved that he was tracking Johnny's moves.

Maxie parked and walked toward the garage. Once again she found that he wasn't alone.

"Are you done? Because if he finds him in my bedroom, it is over, John. I need your help to get him out." Maxie could hear Claudia's voice from outside.

"No." Johnny said.

"No? When it hits, Sonny's going to blame you, same as me." Maxie could hear Claudia's tone and at first was going to turn around. But then she realized that he might be in more trouble that she thought. She had to warn him.

"Claudia -" Johnny stopped when he saw Maxie enter the room.

"I'm sorry Johnny but I really need to talk to you." She said closing the door.

"We're in the middle of something." Claudia had a look on her that could tear down walls.

"Actually, we're finished." Johnny walked to Maxie's side and opened the door. "I'll call you later Claudia."

"Fine John. You want to stay her and play while I'm trying to keep my head above water. Have a nice life." She slammed the door behind her.

"Wow, someone is a bit dramatic." Maxie could see in his eyes that he was actually upset. "I'm sorry. I could come back later. I just- "

"Don't worry about it. Claudia just got herself in another mess and assumes I will help her out of it." Johnny walked back toward his desk.

"Was she talking about Ric?"

"Ric?"

"I just heard her say she needed you to get someone out of her bed before Sonny found them. Thought maybe it was round two." She tried to joke to cover her nerves.

"So you were listening?" Johnny's toned changed then. "How much did you hear Maxie?"

"Not that much." She said quietly.

"How much is not much?" Johnny had walked back to her and was grilling her now. He had an intense look in his eyes but a look that was different than she had seen before.

"Johnny it's me. Hello? I helped you drag Ric's body to the hospital the first time around. You can trust me."

"I know. I'm sorry." He could tell he had scared her. "It's just things are getting so out of control. I don't know how much more I can handle." He walked away from her again.

"Johnny, what's going on? You can trust me."

"I know I can trust you Maxie you've proven that but at this point it's more about protecting you. The less you know, the better."

Maxie could tell he was being sincere but she hated when people questioned what she could handle.

"Johnny that is such crap. I don't need your protecting. If anything I can help you. For instance I came over here to tell you that Jason has Spinelli watching you. He's tracking you and a bunch of others."

"I'm not surprised. Jason doesn't trust me."

"Sure but Spinelli is doing a whole lot of secret P.I. stuff and I know you are in the middle of it."

"Wait so if Spinelli is tracking me, doesn't he know you're here right now?"

"Yah I guess." Maxie hadn't thought of that. It would probably look fishy that she had gone there instead of work. When she really thought about it Spinelli had known Johnny was at Jake's when she went there and even that he came to the apartment later that night. "So Jason didn't say anything after all."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just Spinelli has been acting kinda weird the last few days, like withdrawn, and I thought maybe Jason had told him about catching us the other day. So I basically threw myself at him this morning-" She was rambling.

"Wait you threw yourself at him." He had a cocky grin on his face. "And I'm assuming that didn't go well?"

"For your information I can be very persuasive when I want to be." She said, annoyed by his tone.

"Apparently not persuasive enough since you are here with me instead of back there with him."

"Listen buddy." She sauntered up to him. "If I wanted to, I could have you right now. So don't you question my skills."

"Oh really? Prove it." Johnny eyes were mischievous now and he was looking to play.

Maxie stood on her tip toes and purred into his ear. "I have skills you've never even heard of." She playfully nibbled on his ear lobe and listened, as his breathing got just a bit heavier. "I could push you up against that wall and do things to your body with my mouth that would make you scream." She ran her hand down and felt him harden through his pants. "And you wouldn't stop me for a moment. So don't doubt me."

With that she pulled away from him and walked out the door closing it her behind her. The entire walk to the car she couldn't stop smiling.

**_Please let me know what you think? I some ideas for the next chapter but I'd love to know what is working and what is not. _**


	6. Like a Drug 6

Over a week had passed and Maxie hadn't heard from Johnny. Part of her saw this as a chance to keep her focus on Spinelli but it wasn't necessarily working. Instead she found a way to spend most of their time together at Jason's place so she could get a warning if something was going down. Nothing too suspicious had happened but Spinelli was still acting a bit odd. He kept babbling on about courtly love, which in theory seemed romantic, but she was starting to think it was really just a way for him to keep her at arms length.

They were sitting at a table at Jake's later that night when Maxie again questioned what this whole "courtly love" really meant.

"Courtly love was a method of social intercourse, as it were, for the pre-renaissance nobility. And it flourished in the 12th century, although it became a little more refined and sophisticated post-renaissance, as evidenced by 16th-century sonnets, of course, not to mention the recent game box characters and storylines of the "Dragon Riders" series." Spinelli rambled on.

"So it doesn't have anything to do with order in the court."

"Actually, in this context, court refers to the lords and ladies and knights that surround -- quite literally surround -- the king and queen of any given country. Okay, a knight, for instance, regularly conquers evildoers, and then, after completing all manners of heroic deeds, would return to the court for honor and recognition, not to mention maybe even an approving glance from his heart's desire."

"So the brave guy, like you, always ends up with the girl." She was starting to get the idea.

"Well, in a sense. But in courtly love, the romance is secret. So the suitor would woo his fair lady with sonnets, songs, and tokens of esteem and chaste affection. And then, conversely, she might sneak him a cryptic note or perfumed handkerchief." Spinelli gave her a puppy dog look, which was endearing of course but still lacked the desired effect.

Coleman had come by with a second round of beers when Johnny showed up. She felt a chill run through her when he entered the bar but was disappointed when he went straight up to the bar and ordered a drink. While she sat listening to Spinelli chatter on she noticed that Johnny was drinking hard and fast. Drink after drink with a few shots thrown in between for good measure. She could tell he was upset and wanted to go talk to him.

"Hey Spinelli, do you mind if we finish this conversation later? I haven't been getting enough sleep lately and I really think it's hitting me. I'm super tired." She gave him her best sad but cute look.

"Of course. I'll walk you to your car." He got up and helped her put on her coat. When they left Jake's Spinelli walked her to her car.

"Oh shoot. I forgot my phone. You go ahead I'm just going to go back and grab it. You don't have to wait, I'll be fine." She said giving him a quick hug goodbye.

"Farewell sweet Maximista."

Maxie walked toward the entrance of the bar and waited at the door to wave as Spinelli left the parking lot. She walked back in the bar and straight up to Johnny.

"You ok?" she asked sitting next to him.

"Just peachy" he spouted, he was already slightly drunk and clearly on his way to plastered.

"You want to talk about it? I'm a good listener"

"Maxie," Johnny looked her up and down, "I'm sure there are a lot of things you do well but I doubt listening is one of them." He was being harsh clearly to push her away. "Coleman, just give me the bottle." Johnny reached for the bottle on the counter.

"I don't know man, you are drinking pretty hard maybe you should slow down a little bit." Coleman responded then turned to Maxie, "or maybe you should get him home."

"Yah I think that's a good idea. Come on Johnny, I'll give you a lift." Maxie said getting off the stool.

"How about this, you let me take the rest of that bottle and I will get out of your hair." Johnny slurred throwing some money down on the bar. "That should cover it." He grabbed the bottle and headed out the door with Maxie close behind.

Once they got outside Maxie started to walk toward her car when she realized that Johnny wasn't following. "Hey, I thought I was taking you home."

"I'm heading home but I don't need you to babysit me." Johnny walked to his car door and fumbled with his keys.

"Come on Johnny, you clearly can't drive like this. Don't be stupid."

Johnny turned quickly towards her. "I'm not stupid." His tone was harsh.

"I know you're not, which is why you are going to let me drive you home." She insisted.

"Fine" he threw her his keys "but we are taking my car. I'm not leaving it here." He said and made his way to the passenger seat.

Maxie got in the drivers side and started the car up. "You must be drunk, I don't think I've seen you let anyone drive this car."

"That's because this is my baby. So you better treat her right." He playfully petted the dashboard and took a drink from the bottle.

Maxie pulled out of the parking lot and started her way to Johnny's place.

"Take the back roads." He said between swigs

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I want to go fast and there are less cops." He placed his hand on her knee right where her dress ended and pushed down toward the gas pedal. "You like to go fast right? Pick it up."

"Sure." Maxie accelerated while feeling the adrenaline through her body from his hand.

As they flew down the road they occasionally hit bumps and turns that caused Johnny's hand to move but she never knew if it was on purpose or just the driving.

Johnny had finished off the bottle and opened the window to throw it out. Then he stuck his head out the window and yelled.

"What are you doing?" Maxie said when he finally pulled his head in and closed the window.

"Having fun . . relaxing . . . just letting go. I don't get a lot of chances to do that you know." His hand was definitely moving and he rubbed her thigh with his fingertips. It felt amazing.

"Yah I know what you mean" Maxie said quietly but when she looked over Johnny had his head against the window. "You feeling ok?"

"Yah, just get me home." He said and closed his eyes, his hand still rested on her knee.


	7. Like a Drug 7

Maxie pulled into the spot and turned off the ignition. She looked at Johnny as he slept leaning against the window. He looked worn out. She opened and closed the drivers side door gently and walked to the passenger side. She softly knocked on the window.

"What?" Johnny awoke still drunk and out of it.

"Hey Johnny, open up. I'll help you inside." She said from outside the car.

Johnny unlocked the door and with help from Maxie went inside his place. She got him all the way into the bedroom and was able to pull the cover away from the bed just in time as he dropped into his bed. She undid his shoes and slid them off. He was still awake but was staring off into the distance. She sat down next to him on the bed and reached over him to pull the sheet on top of him. His hand caught her arm and held her there. She was leaning over him.

As she looked into his eyes she could see such a large amount of emotion; sadness and frustration. "Johnny, what is going on" she pleaded.

"I'm really sorry Maxie." His voice was quiet

"Sorry for what? You haven't done anything wrong"

"Yah I have. I've done a lot of things wrong. I'm part of this world filled with violence and pain, where innocent people get hurt for just being in the wrong place. . . and you can't change the mistakes you have made. . . I'm not going to make a mistake with you. I'm not going to drag you into this." He was upset and couldn't even look her in the eyes

"Into what? Johnny, just tell me what's wrong. I want to help you." She pleaded with him.

"You can't help me. It's just a matter of time until -" he stopped himself. "I pushed Lulu away, and then was dumb enough to drag you in." He let go of her arm.

"Wait, this is the secret you were keeping from Lulu. Well I'm not Lulu, I'm not going to break or go insane. Tell me, nothing you can say will scare me away." She grabbed his hand.

"You're wrong. It will." His voice was getting cold. "I think we should stop seeing each other, or whatever this is. Before you get in hurt."

She was frustrated. She was mad at Johnny for not telling her what was going on and furious that he would try and push her away. "Fuck you Johnny. Seriously, you think you are this tough guy who needs to save all the precious little girls of the world. Well fuck you, because I am not a little princess and I don't need YOU to keep me safe."

"Maxie - " he tried to cut her off.

"No I'm serious, fuck you for thinking secret you have is so dangerous that letting me in would put me in danger." She was on a roll now.

"You don't understand -" his frustration was building.

"Oh I don't understand, how fucking cliché. What is it Johnny were you sleeping with someone else? Did you cheat on Lulu, with some one aside from me?"

"No."

"Well what is it then? Huh? Did you kill someone? Big bad Johnny take some one out?"

"Maxie stop -"

She could tell she was getting to him but she couldn't stop. If they next thing he was going to do was tell her they were over she wanted to hurt him first. "You know this "bad-boy with a horrifying secret" shit is getting pretty fucking old. You know why you left Lulu, because you were done with her. You used her up and then you got bored, so you moved on to me. But once again Johnny is fucking bored, big surprise, so you gonna throw me out now?" her eyes burned but she forced herself not to cry.

"It's not like - " he yelled trying to get her to stop.

"Don't bother. I'm not going to sit around and listen to this shit." She got up and walked toward the door but turned. "

"I'm just trying to explain -"

"Explain what? What the fuck is going on?" she screamed back at him.

"It's my fault that Michael got shot." The minute it came out he had a look of sadness in his eyes.

Maxie didn't know what to say. "What do you mean it was your fault" she spoke slowly making sure she heard him right.

"It's a long story but did you know that Sonny kidnapped me?"

She shook her head.

"Well Michael was missing and he thought my family had something to do with it. So he had me grabbed. And as retribution Claudia ordered a hit on Sonny. She didn't mean for anyone else to get hurt but . . . it was the night Michael got shot." He looked down.

"Johnny that wasn't your fault. Your sister - " She moved toward the bed.

"She did it because Sonny took me. She didn't want Michael to get hurt, no one did but it happened and it's just as much my fault as hers. If Lulu found out about it . . . do you understand now?"

"Yah. I get it." She sat at the edge of the bed.

"I understand if you want to leave."

"I don't."

"Are you sure? Because Jax knows about Claudia and it's only a matter of time before Sonny finds out. Really you'd be safe as far away from me as possible."

"Johnny, lets not kid ourselves. Trouble follows me and part of your appeal is your bad boy side." She tried to kid.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this." His voice was quiet.

"I'm not." She took his hand. "I'm happy you finally let me in."

"Yah well your pretty persistent." He was laying back now. "Man, I drank a lot tonight."

"Yep. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty exhausted."

"Well you go to sleep." She leaned back over and pulled the sheet over him. Then she kissed him on the forehead.

He opened his eyes, "that was kind of cheesy." He said with a yawn.

"I guess so."

"But it was nice. Goodnight Maxie" he said closing his eyes again.

"Night Johnny."


	8. Like a Drug 8

**Chapter 8**

Morning sunlight shown in Maxie's eyes waking her up. She groaned and stretched. Her back was achy from sleeping on a small couch at Johnny's place. Once she had wiped the sleep from her eyes she remembered the night before and for an instance regretted staying the night. She was nervous of Jonny's reaction if he found her there. She tried to quietly put on her shoes and grab her coat. Then she walked softly toward the front door.

"Leaving already?"

Johnny's voice scared her and she spun to find him fully dressed and carrying two coffee mugs into the room. "I didn't think you were awake."

"Been up for a while now. But you were sleeping so peacefully. I didn't want to wake you. I was in pretty bad shape last night huh?" He offered her the mug.

"You don't remember?" She took it her hand brushing his fingers for a moment.

"Not really. I remember you driving my car through." He gave her a crooked smile. "You should feel special. You're one of the few."

"Yah well it would have been worse if you had driven." She shot him a look.

"What? I'm sure it would have been fine." He kidded.

"This coming from the guy who doesn't even remember the rest of the night." She said and her smile dropped. "So you don't remember anything after the car drive home?"

"Nope. Did I do something I should know about?" he got serious. "We didn't -"

"No, nothing like that." She cut him off.

"Good. I would want to remember that."

"Yah, well we didn't do anything. You were just really upset and you, umm" she was trying to find the words.

"What? Just tell me Maxie" he took a sip of his coffee.

"You told me about the shooting."

Johnny lowed his mug from his lips. He didn't make eye contact with her. "I did huh? What about it?"

"Pretty much everything. You told me about Claudia ordering the hit and how you think it's your fault, which is crazy." She began to ramble as she walked to the couch and sat next to him.

"Ok Maxie you can stop." He put his mug down and dropped his hands on his lap. "So you know now."

"Yah." She said quietly. She put her hand on top of his.

"I shouldn't have told you."

"I'm happy you let me in, that you trusted me." She could feel her heart race and her skin heating up.

"I do . . ." he turned and looked at her. " . . trust you." He pushed he hair out of her face and left his hand on her cheek. "I know I should stop seeing you, I should keep you safely away. But I don't think I can." He leaned toward her and kissed her.

She kissed him back slowly at first, deeply. His hands wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him. He slid one hand under her knees and picked her up. He broke her kiss as he carried her back to the bedroom. The bed was made and he lowered her on the plush covers. He looked down and couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. He pulled his shirt over his head and joined her on the bed. He unbuttoned her shirt from the bottom button and kissed every newly exposed bit of skin. She shivered as a chilly went through her.

"You ok?" he said

"Better than. Don't stop." She grabbed his head and pulled it to her mouth. Then she surprised him and flipped him on his back. Straddling him she let her unbuttoned shirt drop off of her and she bent down and started to kiss down his stomach. She reached his pants and started to undo his belt. He slid his hands up her arms and pushed her bra straps off her shoulders. Then with one hand he grabbed the back of her neck and brought her mouth down to his. With his other hand he expertly undid her bra and if fell away from her.

"Someone knows what he's doing" she kidded.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet." He said grabbing her and flipping her around on her back. "I thought I was running this show" he kidded and undid the zipper to her skirt.

She lifted as he slowly, tediously slid her skirt and panties down. He began to touch her softly. Rubbing the inside of her thighs, teasing her. He would dip his finger in slightly just to give her a shock and entice her to move towards him and then he would move away. He looked down at her and gave a smirk. She had a fake pout on her face.

"Don't be like that." He said kissing her stomach again but moving slowly down. Maxie couldn't believe how good it felt when he reached her core. At one point it would be a soft warm feeling like he was reaching every inch of her and then quickly he would flick her with his tongue and make her buck underneath him. He teased her for a bit before he slid a finger in while bringing her to climax with his mouth.

She lay back in the bed letting the high of her orgasm fade. When she opened her eyes she found that Johnny was up and off the bed and was putting his shirt back on.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to get to work. We have a really important shipment coming in later today and I can't really afford to screw up at a time like this." He grabbed his wallet and put it in his pocket. "Besides you'll get a chance to repay me, don't you worry."

"Repay you huh?" she grabbed a blanket and wrapped herself up in it. "So I'm supposed to wait here until you come back? Like your personal sex slave?" she kidded.

"No. Not at all. But stay as long as you want. Don't worry, when I want my return, I'll come find you." He walked over to her and kissed her quickly on the mouth.

"Have a good day Maxie" he said leaving the room.


	9. Like a Drug 9

**Chapter 9 **

It was afternoon when Maxie finally made it back to her apartment. She called Lulu and found out she had covered and told Kate that Maxie was home sick. Then she headed to the apartment. In her own head she was replaying everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. She felt the high of the whole situation and adrenaline was till running though her. She was startled when she opened her apartment door and found Spinelli sitting on her couch.

"Hey Spinelli. What are you doing here?"

"Lulu let me in." he was quieter than normal.

"Oh, yah, I just had to run some errands." She hoped he wouldn't realize she was still wearing the same clothes from the day before.

"You don't have to lie. I know you weren't here last night." He was fidgeting sitting on the couch.

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember how you borrowed my coat because you were cold before going to Jake's?"

"Yah." Maxie was confused until he held up her phone.

"You forgot this in the pocket. When I realized that I had it I came by your apartment but you weren't here."

"Oh."

"Lulu let me in."

That's when she realized, he was also wearing the same clothes as the night before. "You stayed here all night?" she sat down next to him by the couch, feeling horrible.

"I was worried about you. I was checking police records, hospital records -." He still wasn't making eye contact with her.

"Spinelli I'm so sorry. I should have called -"

"Then I thought to retrace your steps from the last time I'd seen you."

Maxie froze, he knew.

"I saw you leave Jakes with Johnny."

"Oh that." She tried to cover. "See Johnny was really drunk and he was going to drive himself home. So Coleman asked me to drive him home. He was really sick and I couldn't get a hold of Claudia so I spent the night on his couch just to make sure he was ok." She wasn't completely lying. "You can even ask Coleman. He saw how bad Johnny was."

Spinelli didn't say anything.

Maxie began to feel that sinking feeling. She was going to lose him again. "Spinelli, look at me. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. You are my essential person. You have to believe me." She grabbed his hand.

"I don't know Maxie."

It killed her hearing him call her that. She could feel him slipping away and she did the only thing she could think to keep him. "Please Spinelli, you have nothing to worry about. . . I love you. "

When he heard her words he tilted his head and looked into her eyes. "So nothing happened with Johnny?"

She took a deep breath and did what she had to do. "Nothing."

"And you love me?" he sounded unsure of her words.

She moved closer to him. "Yes." With that she leaned in and kissed him softly. His lack of experience showed. He was uncertain of what to do with his hands, so she took them and brought them to her sides.

He pulled away from her. "I'm sorry I doubted the fair Maximista."

She took a breath of relief. "It's ok. I can only imagine how the situation looked. But you don't have to worry about me and Johnny."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was late in the day when Spinelli finally left the apartment. He was called away by Sam and a new client she needed help with. Maxie went into her room and finally was able to take off the clothes from the day before. First she called Lulu and told her she would be attending the Crimson event that night. She was sure she would have to figure out a reason she had been too sick for work but she couldn't bear to stay home. She wanted to get out and be distracted. Before stepping in the shower she heard her cell ring. She looked to see Johnny was calling. She couldn't answer it. Why did things have to be so difficult? It frustrated her that she had to choose but she did and she had. Spinelli was important to her, he made her feel like a better person and she wasn't willing to give that up. She forwarded the call to voicemail and jumped in the shower.

An hour later she was ready to go. She was stunning in a formal black dress with her hair down. She was startled by the door bell. "Nice. Kate must have sprung for a car service to pick me up." She said to herself.

She grabbed her purse and ran to the door. She opened to find Johnny dressed in a designer suit. Maxie had seen him in a suit before but he always looked so handsome in one. She instantly felt her skin warm.

"Johnny? What are you doing here?" she said with a surprising amount of confidence.

"Kate called. She said she would pay me double to go tonight last minute. I tried to call you" He gave her a smile. "Anyway I figure the money is good I guess I could put up with you for the night. Lets go." He turned to leave.

"Wait, I don't think this is a good idea." She stood in the door way.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I um," she took a moment trying to find the right words. She didn't want to show her weakness for him. "Well Spinelli was here all night waiting for me."

"Man, poor guy." Johnny honestly felt bad for him. "What did you tell him?"

"He knows we were together."

"That must have been hard. Was he pretty crushed when you told him what happened?"

"Well, I told him about how drunk you were and how I drove you home. Which he already knew but then I also told him how I stayed to make sure you were ok and how I slept on your couch."

"And?"

"And that's all. I told him nothing happened."

"So you lied."

"Well I guess but it shouldn't have been a lie. Nothing should have happened. I made a promise to Spinelli and I plan to keep it." She made sure to sound especially confident when making that last statement. "So you can see why I think it's a bad idea for us to go together tonight."

"No. I don't see. We've gone to plenty of these things before and nothing happened. You know how you said I could trust you with the situation with Claudia."

Maxie nodded.

"Well you can trust me about this. Boy scouts honor." He held up the boy scout finger solute.

"You were a boy scout?" Maxie laughed.

"No, not really. But you can still trust me." He smiled at her. 'Now let's have a good night and show off this amazing dress you have on."

"Ok." She was hesitant but she did always have fun with him at these events. Besides the last thing she needed was to upset Kate more.

Johnny held out his arm. "You coming?"

She took his arm and he lead her out of the apartment.


	10. Like a Drug 10

**Chapter 10 **

As much as Maxie and Johnny hoped otherwise the ride to the Fashion show was awkward. It felt like although she was trying her hardest to stay away from him, to be strong, other forces were working against her. The driver seemed to be driving a bit to fast and every time he would turn she would unintentionally lean up against him. Every bump in the road they hit caused her dress to slide up her leg and she would smooth it down again. She had been so excited to dress up and have a fun night but now all she could think of was how she had to keep Johnny at a far reach. She sat quietly fidgeting with her bracelet and wishing the night would fly by.

"So this is kind of awkward huh?" he said breaking the silence.

"Yah I guess" she gave him a small smile. "Damn it" Her bracelet clasp came apart. She tried to fix it herself but couldn't get to clasp around her wrist.

"Here. Let me help." Johnny took her wrist into his hand and placed it on his lap. Then he brought the two ends of the bracelet together. "Looks like the metal is bent the wrong way." He pinched the small clasp together. Pushing the back of her hand into his lap.

She tensed up.

"Did I hurt you?" he had fixed the bracelet and was now holding her hand face up and rubbing the inside of her writs with his thumb.

"No. I'm fine." She said quickly sliding her hand from his lap. "So you excited to go to this thing tonight? Sienna supposed to come, she seemed charmed by you last time."

"Really? I guess I didn't notice. What with my date being so amazing and all." He smiled at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Johnny you promised. I thought I could trust you to keep this . . . professional."

"Professional?" he said the word like it was an insult. "I thought we were going as friends." He mocked her.

"Fine then, as friends." She said sternly.

"So that's all we are now? Friends?"

"Yah."

"And you will be ok with that? Being only friends?" he looked at her with his intense eyes.

She looked away. "Yah, of course."

"Ok then. Friends it is." His tone had changed a bit. He seemed colder but for the time being it would be easier this way if he were less flirty with her.

The rest of the ride was silent. When they arrived Johnny helped her out of the car and they posed and smiled for pictures. Then they made there way inside. The show was high energy with fast runway walks and extremely loud music. Johnny and Maxie couldn't have talked if they wanted to but had anyone been paying attention they looked like they hardly knew each other.

When the show ended they went to the after party. Johnny handed Maxie a glass of champagne.

"Thanks." She said politely while looking around the room.

"I'm going to find something stronger to drink. I'll be back in a bit." With that he was weaving his way through the crowd away from her and towards the bar.

Although she was upset about the friction between Johnny and her, Maxie still was her friendly and out going self. She talked with designers and models, with critics and fellow magazine staffers. She talked and she drank. She must have had at least 4 glasses of champagne. It wasn't until a gossip columnist came up to her that she even realized how long it had been since she saw Johnny.

"So I see your man is here. When are we going to hear more about you two?" the woman questioned.

"Oh, well yah Johnny is here . . . somewhere" she looked around for a second to give the impression that she wanted to find him. "He's so popular at these things. He really is very comfortable with mingling." She didn't want to have the conversation but she knew that this was part of the gig and the reason Kate got her into so many fashion events.

"Popular huh? You don't say. Isn't that Riley Summers he's talking to by the bar? Now that girl is good at "mingling". She's only been on the model scene a few months and has already got a string of celebrity men in her wake. She even hooked up with half of a very solid A-list couple. We may start nicknaming her Angelina." The girl laughed loudly at her own joke but Maxie had stopped listening.

Instead she was watching intently while Riley laughed at something Johnny had said. She flipped her hair and licked her lips while leaning towards him. Maxie watched in disgust as Johnny leaned over and said something into Riley's ear. Again she watched as Riley laughed like he had told her the funniest thing she had ever heard. Maybe it was the drinks or maybe it was their argument earlier but she couldn't help the feeling of jealousy boiling up in her. Sure they weren't together but that's not what the fashion world thought. For all intensive purposes, Maxie and Johnny were a very exclusive couple and this bitch was messing with the wrong girl.

"Actually Riley is an old friend of ours. We've known her forever. She's practically Johnny's sister. Pardon me." Maxie slid by the girl and grabbed another glass of champagne as she walked toward them at the bar.

"Hi there" Maxie said wrapping her arm around Johnny's waist and pulling him against her.

Before he knew what hit him her lips were on his and they were kissing. After a few seconds Maxie pulled away.

"Oh my goodness. How rude am I? I didn't even see you there. I'm Maxie, Johnny's girlfriend." She put her hand out to Riley.

"Riley Summers" she said shaking Maxie's hand.

"Riley Summers, that name sounds so familiar. Where could I have heard your name before?" Maxie looked at Johnny and batted her eyes. "Wait, are you that new intern over at Teen Vouge?"

"No. I'm a model." Riley was clearly not enjoying the conversation and was looking around the room.

"Oh well I'm sure that you will do well with that. You're very . . . cute. Isn't she honey" Maxie turned to Johnny.

"Yah." He kept looking at Maxie with a confused smile.

"Thanks. Well I see someone I know -" Riley started

"It was nice meeting you Riley." Maxie said still with her arm wrapped around Johnny.

She waited about a minute after Riley left before taking a step away from Johnny. Just in time to grab another glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

"Don't you think you should slow down with those? That's like your sixth one." he tried to take it away from her.

"Please." She pivoted so he couldn't take the glass. "After taking care of both you and Lulu completely trashed. I think I get a free pass on this one. Besides, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" She said just loud enough for him to hear her.

"What do you mean? We're just friends remember. I can talk to however I want to, no matter how "cute" she may be." He said mocking her again.

"I- " Maxie started to say something but instead she grabbed Johnny's hand and he followed her through the party and to a back room. Once she closed the door she let him have it, in all her drunken glory. "You know what Johnny, you can fuck any slut you want when I'm not around but when you start to fuck with my career then you better watch yourself. I don't have many things in this world that I care about but I've worked very hard to get were I am and I'm not going to lose it all because you can't keep it in your pants."

The whole time she had been talking she had taken steps towards him and Johnny had backed completely into the room. He had kept a straight face through it all but the minute she was done he started to smirk.

"What the fuck are you smiling about? Didn't you hear me?" She was livid.

"Yah I heard you? But I call bullshit." He took a step toward her

"Oh I assure you. I take my career very seriously-"

"I know you do." He interrupted her. "But you said that you didn't care if I "fucked any slut" when you're not around and we both know that is a load of . . bullshit." He was now taking steps towards her, taking back the control and causing her to back towards the wall.

"No -" She tried to talk

"Yes. It is. You can't stand the idea of me fucking someone else. Especially since you don't know what it's like." He got closer to her. "You can only imagine what it would be like to be with me. And lets not kid ourselves Maxie, you know it would be a whole hell of a lot better than with Spinelli."

She was losing ground and her back was almost against the wall.

"So you want to play this game? Try to stay away from me? Fine. It's probably safer for you in the long run anyways but don't lie to yourself and say you don't care who I "spend my time with" because we both know that is such a load of crap."

She hit the wall with her back. She was next to the door but couldn't seem to move. Johnny had taken all the power back. She felt electricity shocks run through her body with every word he said.

"So enjoy your little computer nerd because I'm done playing games." With that Johnny opened the door and left the room.


	11. Like a Drug 11

Quiet a bit of time had passed since Johnny and Maxie's argument, without them speaking. It wasn't so much that they were avoiding each other but instead a lot had happened. For a while Johnny had fully thrown himself into his work. There were rumors that the old Zacchara gang was looking to rise up against Sonny under the orders of Johnny's father. Even though his father was locked up he still seemed to have something up his sleeve so Johnny had even gone to see his father. This whole time he had also been building trust with Sonny. There was even a new guy in town, Dominic. Johnny didn't want to trust him at first but during a drug bust Dominic had proven his alliance to him and Sonny's organization.

Johnny had seen Maxie a few times around town but she was always with Spinelli and they shared only a few words each time. At first there was an awkwardness between them that no one seemed to notices but even that had faded over time. But Johnny wasn't completely lacking a social life. He had begun hanging out with Olivia again. He couldn't really remember why he had started it up again, aside from the sex. But there was something about her that was exciting even if it was just the fact that Sonny was so against it.

At first Maxie didn't know that Johnny was seeing Olivia again but it slowly made its way through the rumor mill. This time instead of going to confront him about his new interest she pushed the urge away and redirected her frustrations with Spinelli in bed. This would turn out to be a huge mistake.

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Maxie fell back exhausted. Spinelli was lying next to her with a look of amazement and exhilaration.

"That was. . .amazing." She said, truly surprised with his talents.

"I guess I was . . . transformed, transported by your touch." He stared up toward the ceiling with a broad smile on his face.

"I think, uh. I finally understand courtly love. It's having a connection with someone. Not just a physical one, but . . . with your mind and your soul. And yes, the sex is incredible. I trust you completely, Spinelli. I feel like I can tell you anything."

"You'll have my heart forever. You know that, right?" he turned to face her.

His words were a comfort to her. She stretched, reaching her arms above her head. "I know.

"Will you marry me?"

She let out a small laugh. "Is this part of some ritual of courtly love-- after you have hot sex, you propose marriage?"

"No, a proposal of marriage is not, in fact, a component of courtly love. Such relationships were often star-crossed, secret and unconsummated. For example, I doubt that . . ."

"I, uh--I--I-- I don't know what to say." She cut him off mid-ran after realizing he wasn't kidding. "Oh--oh! Look at the time! I'm gonna be late. This is terrible, because Kate comes back today, and if I'm not there or caught up to speed, she's-- she's gonna fire me! I'm really sorry Spinelli but we will have to finish this conversation up later." She kissed him on the cheek. Grabbed her stuff, threw on her clothes, and was out of the room in a flash.

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Maxie was caught off by the whole thing. She tried to put together the pieces that would have lead him to think it was what she would want. Did she give off wedding vibes? Did she look like the marrying type? She had always had a sour taste in her mouth when it came to marriage. But how could she explain it to Spinelli without hurting him or worse, losing him. She walked and walked and without even realizing she ended up at the pier. She sat down on the bench and started out to the water.

She was out there for awhile. The sun was now beating down on her. Then a hand flashed in front of her face. She looked up to find Johnny standing over her.

"You ok?" he asked

"Yah. I'm fine. Why?" she tensed up for a bit thinking about him and Olivia.

"I was calling your name and you didn't seem to hear me."

"I guess I just have a lot on my mind." Part of her really wanted him just to walk away.

"Want to talk about it?" he sat down next to her on the bench.

"Nothing you would want to hear about." All of a sudden she realized how warm it had gotten. She pulled her jacket off and put it beside her on the bench.

"Maxie" there was urgency to his voice. "did someone . . hurt you?"

"What?" she turned toward him. "No. What are you talking about?"

"Oh. Your shirt -" he gestured down. "It's messed up.

She looked down to find sure enough her buttons were done up wrong leaving one end longer than the other and with a button missing in the middle showing part of her stomach. "Oh that, I guess I just left in a rush. Wasn't paying attention."

"And you lost a button?" he raised his eyebrow and smiled at her condescendingly coming to a realization. "Looks like someone had some fun."

"Well for your information. Spinelli and I had amazing sex last night . . . and this morning." She spouted defensively.

"Oh really. I'm impressed. I have to say I didn't see that coming." He was still smiling. "At least from Spinelli"

The fact that it didn't seem to faze him at all pissed her off even more. "So how are you and Olivia doing?"

"Oh, so you've heard about that?" he stopped smiling.

"Well I have ears, so yah. I hate to break it to you but it's pretty much public knowledge that you've been screwing her. As well as the fact that Sonny hates you for it." She was staring back toward the water again. Wishing he would just leave.

"Olivia and I are doing fine. It's really not that serious and I could care less who Sonny doesn't want me seeing. He's my boss, not my keeper." He was serious now.

"Great to hear." She snipped. "I hope you guys are really happy but I have to go." She got up and headed towards the stairs.

"Maxie, wait" he called to her.

"What?" she turned with a flutter in her stomach.

"You forgot this" he lifted up her jacket from the bench.

She walked back to grab it from his hand. He didn't let it go for a second and they met eyes.

"Later Maxie." He let go of her jacket and she turned and left the pier.


	12. Like a Drug 12

Chapter 12

When Maxie heard about Claudia's car accident she had mixed emotions. She wanted to make sure Johnny was ok but she didn't feel like they were in a place anymore where that would be appropriate. Especially since she had agreed to marry Spinelli so as not to lose him. She hadn't talked to Johnny about it but she knew he had heard the news. If he didn't want to come talk to her about it then it clearly meant that he didn't much care her decision. In fact he probably didn't want to see her at all. She kept telling herself that until she heard that Claudia had lost the baby. Her urge was too strong and it a strange turning Spinelli had even mentioned that she should go see him. Spinelli had said he probably would need a friend to talk to. So Maxie headed over to his place to help her friend.

"Johnny? You there?" Maxie called out. She had knocked at his door but he hadn't answered. She could see the lights on inside and when she tried the door she found it unlocked.

She closed the door quietly behind her and made her way to his room. He was sitting on the bed with his back towards the doorway. She stepped into the room and stopped.

"What do you want Maxie?" his voice was quiet and empty. He kept his back to her.

"I wanted to come and make sure you were ok. I heard about Claudia . . . and the baby. I'm really sor-" she took a few steps into the room.

"Yah well you don't have to worry about me. It's Claudia who's a mess. She's angry and devastated. She thinks I'm happy that she lost the baby."

"What? Why would you think that?" touched his shoulder.

"She said it and she told me to leave. She's wrong, you know. She's just so stubborn . . ." he stopped talking.

Maxie went around the corner of the bed and sat next to him. She put her hand on his knee. "She's upset now. But you mean the world to her. She doesn't really mean it."

"I don't know Maxie. I think she might, I think she might actually think I'm happy about all this. She's in so much pain and she has no one with her . . . I just wish this whole situation never happened." As he turned to Maxie she could see his eyes watering up. She felt her heart ache for him. She wrapped her arm around him as he leaned into her. He wouldn't let himself cry, not for himself and not for the death of his niece or nephew. Instead he let Maxie hold him. She ran her hand through his hair, comforting him. After a short while he fell asleep but she didn't really want to leave so she picked up the blanket at the end of the bed and draped it over him. She lay down in the bed next to him. Watching his sleep she reached out her hand. Softly she brushed her fingertips over the features of his face. He let out a soft breath and she froze for a second. Once she was sure he was still asleep she ran her fingertips down his arm and to his hand. She took his hand in hers and closed her eyes. Soon she fell asleep too.

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"We have to stop meeting this way." Johnny kidded softly putting a fresh mug of coffee on the bed stand. He was smiling and looking down at Maxie when she first awoke the next morning.

"Good morning." She yawned and stretched. "Feeling any better this morning?"

"Yah. I am, thanks for everything." He said cleaning up the bed.

Maxie slid her feet to the floor on the side of the bed sleepily. As she went to stand up Johnny pulled the blanket that had fallen to floor and was under her feet. She lost her balance for a moment but he caught her in time before she fell back to the bed.

"Sorry about that." He said, his face close to hers. His breath caused her to shiver. "You're cold a lot huh?"

"What?" she asked softly still staring into his eyes.

"You are always shivering." He said and pushed a strand of hair from her face. He leaned in and his lips met hers. It was a sweet kiss, soft and gentle, until she pulled away.

"I think you should know I'm engaged to Spinelli." She took a small step back.

"I know." He said matter-a-factly.

"Well if you know then why would you kiss me?" she was slightly annoyed and it showed.

"Because I wanted to and you wanted me to."

"Oh really." She knew he was right but refused to show it.

"Yah. Why else would you be here?"

"I'm here Johnny, because I thought you'd need a friend." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"Maxie, we're not friends. We may be friendly at times but when it comes down to it. You know we can't just be friends."

"Why not?" she was hurt by his words.

"This is why?" And with that his lips were on hers again. This time much more passionately. He took her breath away and she didn't fight him. Instead she kissed him back just as intensely. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed her body against his. He slid his hand down her back and guided her back towards the bed. He lowered her down not removing his mouth from hers. His kiss felt like it was never ending. She couldn't stop kissing him back more and more. Next thing she knew he had taken his shirt off and she was sliding her hands over his smooth chest. His skin was warm to her touch and as his mouth pulled away from hers and he made his way down her neck her skin began to heat up as well. She pulled away from him just enough to pull her sweater over her head. She was wearing a silky camie underneath and Johnny slid his hands underneath it.

"No bra?" he began to kid looking at her face but he stopped, "You are so beautiful." He said before his mouth found her collarbone. He kissed down her chest and his mouth found her through her top. She moaned as she felt her camie dampen in his mouth. He teased her and he finally pulled her shirt over her arms. His mouth found her again and she arched her back to meet his mouth. After a few moments she stopped him.

"I think I owe you something." She pushed him back on the bed and unbuttoned his pants. She slid them and his boxers down and while looking up at him she put him in her mouth.

"You are amazing." He uttered before laying his head back on the bed. "So fucking amazing."


	13. Like a Drug 13

CHAPTER 13

"Where were you last night?"

Maxie jumped at the voice and turned around. "Jesus Spinelli, you scared the crap out of me."

She was leaving her apartment to go to work. She had slipped in late that morning and was rushing so she wouldn't be any later for work.

"I'm sorry." His voice was off, kind of quiet. "I tried to phone last night but you didn't pick up. I was worried."

"No, Spinelli, I'm sorry." She juggled her bags and locked the door. "I guess I got home kind of late and I completely crashed. I should have called you."

"How was Johnny?" He asked pushing the elevator button.

"Johnny?" she looked at him nervously. "He was pretty upset, you know, about his sister. She really does create nothing but problems for him. . it's actually pretty sad."

"So Johnny talked to you about Claudia?" he held the door open for her while she stepped inside.

"Yah. I mean, he tells me some things. . . she's a piece of work that one." There was an awkward silence. She wasn't sure what else to say.

"But he talks to you." Spinelli was watching the numbers change as they went down.

"I guess, it's not like we play truth or dare or anything," she tried to lighten the mood "but we're friends, friends talk, they trust each other."

Spinelli turned to her. "Of course they do, just like I trust you." He reached into his pocket and he pulled out a small box. "I know this isn't the diamond that I owe you but I hope for now you like it."

Maxie opened the box and found a necklace. It had a heart similar to a locket with a diamond embedded in it. She pulled it out of the box. "Oh Spinelli, it's beautiful." She turned it over in her hand.

"Let me put it on you." He stood behind her and as she raised her hair up he closed the clasp and rested his hands on her shoulders. "It looks beautiful on you."

"Thank you. I'll never take it off." She brushed her finger over it and gave Spinelli a hug.

"Good. It will be like the Jackel is with you all the time." He kissed her softly as the elevator finally reached the parking floor.

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Part of Maxie felt guilty and part of her just felt confused. She threw herself into her work and spent the next few days in the office, only going home to sleep. Spinelli would join her for lunch breaks or just bring her food to eat at work on the busier days. Things were going smoothly. She had even had a few meetings with Kate to go over wedding plans. Kate had started to take over Maxie's wedding but for some reason she didn't mind. It would be a big, extravagant affair, which any fashionista would be proud of. Really it was less work for her to do, or at least that's what she told herself when she began to think about the wedding.

Johnny had tried to reach her a few times. He had called her cell and her office phone but she always ignored the calls. Work was crazy and she didn't have any time. That's what she had told him when she first picked up the office phone without realizing it was him. He seemed hurt and frustrated but he said he understood. She had been able to avoid him for over a week and she was starting to feel less guilty with Spinelli. Until Kate had dropped a bombshell.

"I need you and Johnny to go to an event in Miami. It shouldn't be all that time consuming really just Friday and Saturday and you can fly back on Sunday." Kate was flipping through some photo proofs.

"You must be kidding. I'm getting married in a few months. It's going to be all over Crimson and Johnny and I haven't been to an event in forever-"

"I know, and I assure you this will be the last time but there is this amazing designer over there who is releasing his fall line early to a very select few and he is allowing Crimson a full access pass."

"Well that's great but why does it have to be Johnny and me."

"Well this designer is actually a fashion genius or something. He's only in his early twenties and since it's such a small world he actually knows Johnny from some boarding school. He had heard that Johnny was working with us and wants to reconnect. Really that seems to be the only reason we even got an invite."

"You've got to be kidding." Maxie mumbled.

"What?" Kate's voice was stern.

"Nothing. Sounds good. When do we leave?" she was defeated without any way out of the trip.

"You leave tomorrow afternoon. Lulu can cover the office for two days and then we will meet on Monday to go over the feature."

"Sure thing." She collected her things and went back out to her desk.

"Have a great trip." Lulu snipped. "Again."

"Look, I wish it was you going on this trip. I have way to much going on right now to leave for a long weekend."

"You're leaving?" Spinelli waked in carrying two coffees for the girls.

"Yah. I'm really sorry Spinelli but Kate is having me go to Florida for a few days. I will be back by Sunday though."

"It's ok fair Maximista. The Jackel has plenty of work to keep him busy."

"New case?" Lulu asked sipping her drink.

"Not so much new as newly inspired. The Jackel has had what we call in the investigating world, "a big break".

"That's great Spinelli." Maxie said.

He smiled. "So will you be going on this excursion alone?"

"Um, actually no. Johnny's coming." She held her breath waiting for the suspicions to begin.

"Well I suppose it would be a nice change for the dark prince to go to sunny Florida." He said with a chuckle.

"Sure, I guess. So you're not mad?" Maxie asked hesitantly, she fidgeted with her necklace.

"Not at all. I know that the fair and honest Maximista is one to be trusted. You will get no guff from me."

Maxie was hit with a wave of relief and she stopped playing with her necklace. Spinelli looked at it and smiled.


	14. Like a Drug 14

CHAPTER 14

"Maxie"

"Johnny"

They both smiled politely as they waited at the airport for their flight. Maxie had tried to come up with a reason to put them on separate flights to Miami but she couldn't do it without looking suspension so instead she settled with seating them on different ends of the plane. The flight was delayed and they ended up on a red eye flight so Maxie was able to sleep through most of it. Late into the flight she woke and sluggishly walked back down the aisle towards the restrooms. She saw Johnny sleeping leaning against the window. He looked peaceful.

There was small little girl coloring at an aisle seat. As Maxie passed the girl dropped the stuffed rabbit she had tucked under her arm. Maxie bent over and picked it up. She dusted off the rabbit and handed it back to the little girl. She gave her a big smile and went on coloring. When Maxie looked back she found Johnny was awake and staring at her with a small smile across his face. She quickly walked towards the bathroom and closed herself inside. She leaned against the door. She felt a warm cover her skin. She took a paper towel and wet it and cooled off her face. There was a knock on the door.

Maxie froze. Had he really followed her? She felt her heart race she quickly dried off her face and fixed her hair in the mirror. Then she opened the door.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if anyone was in there." An older man waited outside the door.

"I'm done. It's all yours." She slid by him and walked back to her seat. She made it a point not to look at Johnny the entire walk back but as she sat back down she peaked over her shoulder to find him asleep again.

The flight wasn't long and before they knew it they had touched down in Florida. A car met them at the airport and brought them to a large house on a cliff overlooking the ocean. An eccentrically dressed young man greeted them at the door.

"Johnny, It's so great to see you." He hugged Johnny.

"You too Patrick" Johnny said strained by the strength of the designers hug.

Patrick released him and turned to Maxie. "And this must be the stunning Maxie I've heard so much about."

She blushed as he reached out and grabbed her in a hug. She gave Johnny a quick look before pulling away from Patrick. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Kate was very honored and excited that you would allow us to come and get a inside look of your work for the magazine."

"No problem. Having the two of you here is my pleasure. When Johnny called-"

"You know the flight was kind of a rough one and it's still pretty early. I bet Maxie would like to settle in." Johnny said quickly cutting his friend off.

"Of course, how rude of me. Let me show you your room." Patrick grabbed one of her bags and stared up the stairs.

"What was he talking about? You called him?" Maxie whispered to Johnny.

"It's nothing." He said before quickly picking up his bags and heading up the stairs.

"Here it is. It's got the best view of the house, well when it's daylight at least" He placed Maxie's bag at the end of the bed. "I should get some sleep myself. If you need anything else I'm just down the hall. Brunch is usually at 10:30 but I doubt any one will be up by then so we will just wing it tomorrow. Night Guys."

Patrick closed the door behind him. Maxie was opening her suitcase and pulling out her dresses to hang when she noticed Johnny sit on the edge of the bed and start untying his shoes.

"What are you doing?" she asked

"What does it look like? I'm getting ready to sleep. I wasn't lying before. I had a horrible time sleeping on that flight."

"Well you're not sleeping in here!"

"Why not?" he leaned back against the headboard and gave her a sly smile. "Feels pretty comfortable, in fact I bet I will fall asleep pretty quick."

"Oh no you won't" She crossed her arms. "You better march to over to your best friend and ask him for your own room. You seem to be pretty tight, you know, with all the phone calls you've been having lately."

"Look I knew you might be angry if I told you but I called him to help you out."

"Help me out? You think having the two of us come down here for the weekend, pretend to be a couple, and sleep in the same bed is helping me? I think Spinelli would beg to differ."

" I wasn't thinking about Spinelli. I was thinking about what you said to me about screwing around with your career. Look maybe I've been a little selfish-"

"Just a little." She cut in.

"Don't push it Maxie. You're hardly innocent in all this. It's just, it's hard having you in my life-"

"Thanks. That's nice to hear." She cut him off again

"Will you let me finish? It's hard to have you in my life because you challenge me and you question me and drive me crazy with your hot and cold acts. But as hard as it is having you in my life, it's so much harder without you."

"It is?" Maxie sat at the end of the bed.

"Yah. Do you know how hard it was keeping the secret about Michael? It was eating away at me and when I told you, as cliché as it sounds, it was like part of that weight was lifted. And when Claudia lost her baby, I was a wreck and I needed someone and you were there. You were there when I needed you and then I went and took advantage of you."

"Johnny, you didn't-."

"Yah I did Maxie. I knew you were engaged to Spinelli and I didn't care. I didn't respect your feelings for him. . . which is exactly what I'm doing all over again." He got off the bed and walked to her.

Johnny placed his hand on her cheek and leaned over and kissed her other cheek. Her breath seemed to get caught in her throat. His warm breath caressed her skin and she closed her eyes. Then she felt him pull away from her. She opened her eyes in time to see him reach over and grabbed his bag. "I'm sorry Maxie, I don't know why I keep doing this. I'll find somewhere else to sleep. Just get some rest. "

Johnny left the room and closed the door behind him.

"What just happened?" Maxie questioned to an empty room.

The next day went by in a blur. Maxie met with Patrick and his team and got the inside scoop on his design and his background.

"Patrick thank you so much for letting us come here and see your line. It's just amazing clothes, I can't wait to see the show."

"The pleasure has been all mine. I was surprised when I got the call from Johnny, I never would have guessed he'd be involved in the fashion world. And then the way he went on and on about you. To be honest I didn't think it could have all been true but you are just as talented and breathtaking as he said. Kate is really the lucky one to have you on her team. I wish I could steal you away."

"I appreciate the kind words. I've loved fashion since I was old enough to play dress up and I've always dreamed of having my own fashion magazine. Working on this piece has been an amazing opportunity."

"Well the thanks should go to Johnny he's the little match maker this time."

"Yah, definitely. I have to say I wouldn't have guessed that Johnny and you would be such good friends." She paused realizing how her words had sounded. "I just mean, you don't seem to have much in common." She tried to backpedal.

"I guess our friendship is kind of odd. We actually hadn't talked in a very long time. We were roommates back in school. He was only there for a few months before he had to leave, something to do with his father's business, but Johnny always had my back. Kids can be cruel when your different like I am" he gestured to his eccentric clothing. "I even got jumped once at school. Can you imagine me in a physical altercation?"

Patrick laughed quietly to himself.

"Johnny went after the three guys who did it and no one ever bothered me again." He got lost in a moment but for looking back at her. "Speaking of Johnny, where did he run off to?"

"I'm not sure but he said he would be back before the show." Maxie looked at her watch. "Which is only in a few hours, I should go and let you get ready." With that Maxie headed back to her room.

Maxie had dressed in a simple black dress and pulled her hair away from her face. She stood at the mirror staring blankly at her face. Slowly she raised her hand and touched her cheek where Johnny had the night before. Her hand dropped down to the locket. She slid her hands up the chain until she found the clasp. She took one deep breath and unclasped the locket and dropped it on the dresser. She took one more moment to check her makeup and grabbed her wrap before walking out of the room.

As she walked down the hall she noticed the door to Johnny's guest room was slightly open. She slowed down and peeked in. She found Johnny sitting at the desk. He had his back to the door. She knocked lightly, pushing the door open.

"Hey." He said turning to her. "You look beautiful?"

"Thank you." She stayed in the doorway, not wanting to invade his space, not wanting to push. She felt insure and nervous.

"Is it time to go?" He grabbed his wallet off the desk and picked his suit coat off the bed.

"Yah. We should get going." She turned and they walked down to the foyer silently.

"Hey" Johnny caught her arm as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

She turned toward him and tilted her head up to face him still standing on the stairs.

"I'm sorry about everything. Let's just have a good night. No pressure, ok?"

All Maxie could do was feel sparks rushing through her body from his hand still on her arm.

"Sounds good." She forced a confident smile. It was going to be a long night.


	15. Like a Drug 15

_It's been awhile and I've been neglectful. This is not really the return that anyone still reading this story deserves but I've hit a bit of a wall. So any advice would be appreciated. Otherwise I will try and push through. I will probably wrap this up in the next few chapters. _

CHAPTER 15

The show was an inspiration to Maxie. She had thought she would have to force herself to focus on the clothes and ignore Johnny next to her but she was drawn into a world that Patrick had created in his show. She didn't seem to notice how often Johnny's eyes would leave the beauties of the catwalk and settle on her. He watched her eyes, full of awe and childlike excitement. When the last model left the stage and the lights came up and the room which had been serene and whimsical only moments before, burst into a chaotic rush of people.

"Should we wait for Patrick?" Maxie asked.

Johnny looked around the room. "Nah, I'm sure he will be the bell of the ball tonight, no pun intended." He smiled at her sweetly. "Do you want to head over to the after party?"

He reached his hand out for hers and she wanted to take it but resisted.

"Actually I'm not feeling so great, I think I should just head back to the house." She rose and reached for her wrap, which was on the back of the chair.

Johnny quickly grabbed it for her and draped it over her shoulders. "Oh, ok. I'll go back with you."

"You don't have to really. I can make-"

"Johnny! Maxie!" Patrick called out to them as he came over. "Well? What did you think of the show?"

"It was amazing. I loved every piece" Maxie exclaimed.

"Such a sweetheart she is" he said to Johnny. "So are you guys ready to party 'til dawn?"

"Well Maxie isn't feeling very well so we were thinking of heading back to the house."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, I was hoping to introduce you to some of my closest friends. They can't seem to believe that I was actually an athlete in my youth" Raised his drink. "I wanted you to tell them all my impressive manly moments."

"Well then of course Johnny will stay. There are a million cabs outside, I can definitely make it back."

"Don't be silly." Patrick waved over a member of the staff. "Please make sure a car brings my friend home."

"I guess I will see you in the morning then." Johnny said quietly.

Maxie walked to the exit, she turned briefly and saw Patrick and Johnny disappear into the crowd.

Maxie sat at the computer writing up her notes from the trip; her interview with Patrick, his line and the show. The words poured out of her in a rate that even surprised herself. Next thing she knew she had been writing for over two hours straight. She was done writing but was still too energized from the show to sleep. She stripped out of her dress and pulled on a tank top and some pj bottoms. She looked down at the necklace on the dresser. She picked it up and put it back on. She picked up her cell phone and called Spinelli but she only got his voicemail. She didn't leave a message; she wasn't sure what to say.

She looked at the bed but still was not ready to go to sleep yet. Instead she went down the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She wandered by Patrick's workroom. The walls were covered with sketches and cloth swatches. He had bookcases full of design and fashion books. She sat on the floor of the room with her glass of wine next to her and flipped through the pages of the fashion books in his collection.

Finally she realized it was getting very late and the guys would be home soon. She made her way back upstairs but couldn't help but peek into the room Johnny was staying in. She noticed his shirt on his floor by the desk. She walked over and picked it up. She could smell his cologne on it.

"What are you doing?" Johnny's voice slurred in her ear. He was right behind her.

She jumped and turned punching him in the face.

"What the hell Maxie!" He held his face in his hands.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. You scared me. I didn't mean to. . . " she stopped when she realized how much he was swaying. "Are you drunk?"

"Thankfully I am. This would probably have hurt a lot more if I wasn't. Anyone ever told you that you've got a great right hook?"

As he moved his hand Maxie could already see the skin around his eye was beginning to swell.

"Let me get you some ice." She rushed out of his room and headed down the stairs.

"It's fine. I can get it myself." He was right behind her down the stairs. "I thought you weren't feeling good. I didn't realize that was code for wanting to come home and sneak through my stuff."

"I wasn't sneaking, I was writing up notes on this weekend and then I couldn't sleep so I was . . . wandering."

They reached the kitchen and Maxie pulled open the freezer door.

"No ice packs but there's this" She pulled out a bag of frozen peas.

"That will do" Johnny took it from her hand. He placed the bag of peas against his eyes and flinched a bit.

"I'm sorry Johnny. I really didn't mean to punch you."

"You sure it wasn't some unconscious desire to give me a black eye." He tilted his head and squinted at her with his good eye and smiled at her. "I probably deserve it."

"Well if it was unconscious I wouldn't really know, would I?" she smiled back

"I guess not."

"We should probably get to bed." Maxie said.

"I think I'm going to get a drink but you go ahead."

"Night Johnny" Maxie left the kitchen.

"Sweet dreams" she heard him say from the kitchen.


End file.
